Letters to the Editor for Jan. 8, 2013

Published: Tuesday, January 8, 2013 at 6:01 a.m.

Last Modified: Monday, January 7, 2013 at 6:12 p.m.

Yoho is a zealot

It should be noted that the new member of the House of Representatives from our district, Ted Yoho, as one of his first acts in office, voted against the bill to aid the regions of New York and New Jersey that were so devastated by Hurricane Sandy.

I wonder how he'll vote the next time Florida gets hit by a hurricane. If the breed holds true, he'll be first in line demanding that the federal government provide immediate and long-term aid. Since the House shortly thereafter gave in to the general outrage and passed a bill, albeit smaller, to assist Sandy's victims, he might claim he was just trying to make a point. The point is duly noted. He is just another tea party zealot.

Tony Oliver-Smith,

Gainesville

Congrats to Gators

Congratulations to the Florida football team for an outstanding year! The Gators went 11-2 with the nation's toughest schedule and beat more top-10 teams than any other school. They also soundly beat their in-state rival and the ACC champion on their home turf.

The unfortunate Sugar Bowl loss seemed like when Florida beat Ohio State in the Fiesta Bowl for the national championship in reverse. One team was told they did not have the talent or had played as tough a schedule and therefore was a two-touchdown underdog. In both games, one team was a little over-confident and the other was sky high with emotion. 2012 was overall a great year and an accomplishment for the Gators!

Robert Pralle,

Newberry

Schools need fences

I would like to think my kids are at least incrementally safer now that police officers are assigned to their schools. Unfortunately, I do not have those thoughts. Having lived in several regions of the country, and having children attending a number of different schools, I believe the situation in Gainesville, as far as security goes, is the worst that I have seen.

This stems from the way the schools are laid out here. Many of them are in campus-like settings where children have to move from building to building during the school day. Where fences exist, they are often not closed, and there are areas where no fencing exists.

No matter what the intent of the police, seeing an armed person every day at the school is likely to cause many children and parents to have feelings of anxiety. A fence, well that's something many have at home.

Albert Meyer,

Gainesville

Criminals support more gun control

Gun control laws only control law-abiding citizens. Criminals don't obey laws, so gun-control laws won't prevent criminals from having guns.

During “Operation Fast and Furious,” our current administration provided guns to known criminals. Some outspoken anti-gun politicians possess firearms, or have people with guns protecting them even as they advocate for more gun restrictions (yours, not theirs).

We already have laws prohibiting everything from murder to speeding. Criminals willingly break these laws every day. Criminals will still have access to their weapons of choice, you will not.

I'm sure criminals would support more gun control (again yours, not theirs). The shooter in Newtown stole legally acquired weapons, after he killed the owner. He then slaughtered 20 unarmed children, six unarmed adults and then himself. None of the dozens of laws he broke that day did anything to protect one of those innocent people. Guns didn't kill anyone, an evil criminal did.

Wally Withey,

High Springs

Ron will be missed

As a geographer, I wrote to Ron Cunningham a number of years ago complimenting him on what I perceived to be his increased “spatial awareness” in columns about Gainesville. My recollection is that his reply went something like this: “I'm not sure what spatial awareness is, but maybe it will go away if I lie down with a hot cloth on my forehead.” For me, this reply characterized his approach as editorial page editor — serious about important community concerns, but never taking himself too seriously. I'll miss Ron's work. His writing has made a significant, positive contribution to our hometown.

<p><b>Yoho is a zealot</b></p><p>It should be noted that the new member of the House of Representatives from our district, Ted Yoho, as one of his first acts in office, voted against the bill to aid the regions of New York and New Jersey that were so devastated by Hurricane Sandy.</p><p>I wonder how he'll vote the next time Florida gets hit by a hurricane. If the breed holds true, he'll be first in line demanding that the federal government provide immediate and long-term aid. Since the House shortly thereafter gave in to the general outrage and passed a bill, albeit smaller, to assist Sandy's victims, he might claim he was just trying to make a point. The point is duly noted. He is just another tea party zealot.</p><p><i>Tony Oliver-Smith,</p><p>Gainesville</i></p><p><b>Congrats to Gators</b></p><p>Congratulations to the Florida football team for an outstanding year! The Gators went 11-2 with the nation's toughest schedule and beat more top-10 teams than any other school. They also soundly beat their in-state rival and the ACC champion on their home turf.</p><p>The unfortunate Sugar Bowl loss seemed like when Florida beat Ohio State in the Fiesta Bowl for the national championship in reverse. One team was told they did not have the talent or had played as tough a schedule and therefore was a two-touchdown underdog. In both games, one team was a little over-confident and the other was sky high with emotion. 2012 was overall a great year and an accomplishment for the Gators!</p><p><i>Robert Pralle,</p><p>Newberry</i></p><p><b>Schools need fences</b></p><p>I would like to think my kids are at least incrementally safer now that police officers are assigned to their schools. Unfortunately, I do not have those thoughts. Having lived in several regions of the country, and having children attending a number of different schools, I believe the situation in Gainesville, as far as security goes, is the worst that I have seen.</p><p>This stems from the way the schools are laid out here. Many of them are in campus-like settings where children have to move from building to building during the school day. Where fences exist, they are often not closed, and there are areas where no fencing exists.</p><p>No matter what the intent of the police, seeing an armed person every day at the school is likely to cause many children and parents to have feelings of anxiety. A fence, well that's something many have at home.</p><p><i>Albert Meyer,</p><p>Gainesville</i></p><p><b>Criminals support more gun control</b></p><p>Gun control laws only control law-abiding citizens. Criminals don't obey laws, so gun-control laws won't prevent criminals from having guns.</p><p>During “Operation Fast and Furious,” our current administration provided guns to known criminals. Some outspoken anti-gun politicians possess firearms, or have people with guns protecting them even as they advocate for more gun restrictions (yours, not theirs).</p><p>We already have laws prohibiting everything from murder to speeding. Criminals willingly break these laws every day. Criminals will still have access to their weapons of choice, you will not.</p><p>I'm sure criminals would support more gun control (again yours, not theirs). The shooter in Newtown stole legally acquired weapons, after he killed the owner. He then slaughtered 20 unarmed children, six unarmed adults and then himself. None of the dozens of laws he broke that day did anything to protect one of those innocent people. Guns didn't kill anyone, an evil criminal did.</p><p><i>Wally Withey,</p><p>High Springs</i></p><p><b>Ron will be missed</b></p><p>As a geographer, I wrote to Ron Cunningham a number of years ago complimenting him on what I perceived to be his increased “spatial awareness” in columns about Gainesville. My recollection is that his reply went something like this: “I'm not sure what spatial awareness is, but maybe it will go away if I lie down with a hot cloth on my forehead.” For me, this reply characterized his approach as editorial page editor — serious about important community concerns, but never taking himself too seriously. I'll miss Ron's work. His writing has made a significant, positive contribution to our hometown.</p><p><i>Ary J. Lamme, III,</p><p>Gainesville</i></p>